The 2015 CMA Awards have a serious “Girl Crush” on Little Big Town.
The heartsick single — a sleeper success on country radio this year —- was the big winner out of the gate at this year’s telecast. In the first half of the show, the tune picked up the awards for single of the year and song of the year despite it being, as the band described it onstage, a “6/8 ballad about jealousy and heartbreak.”
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The band’s performance of it was appropriately stark, with Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman trading harmonies about loneliness and envy edging into obsession. But it was the most serious moment of a lively telecast that showcased how its classic songwriterly vantage points can allow for new twists.
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Co-hosts Brad Paisley, left, and Carrie Underwood perform a skit during the opening bit.
(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) 2/23
From left, Phillip Sweet, Karen Fairchild, Kimberly Schlapman and Jimi Westbrook of Little Big Town accept the award for single of the year for “Girl Crush.”
(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) 3/23
Edie Brickell and Steve Martin present the award for single of the year.
(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) 4/23
Keith Urban, left, and John Mellencamp perform.
(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) 5/23
Brad Paisley, left, William Shatner and Carrie Underwood perform a skit onstage.
(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) 6/23
Hank Williams Jr., left, and Eric Church hit the stage together.
(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) 7/23
Zac Brown of the Zac Brown Band performs a tribute to Little Jimmy Dickens.
(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) 8/23
Kenny Chesney works the crowd.
(Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP) 9/23
Paisley and Underwood crack jokes onstage.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 10/23
Justin Timberlake, left, and Chris Stapleton give a memorable performance.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 11/23
Sam Hunt performs.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 12/23
Lori McKenna, from left, Liz Rose and Hillary Lindsey accept the award for song of the year for “Girl Crush,” performed by Little Big Town.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 13/23
Blake Shelton performs with a smile.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 14/23
Kelsea Ballerini hits all the right notes.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 15/23
Miranda Lambert accepts the award for female vocalist of the year.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 16/23
Jason Aldean performs.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 17/23
Kacey Musgraves takes the stage in a glittery ensemble to match the setting.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 18/23
Chris Stapleton accepts the award for new artist of the year.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 19/23
Carrie Underwood takes time off her co-hosting duties to perform.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 20/23
Brian Kelley, left, and Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line accept the award for vocal duo of the year.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 21/23
Jimi Westbrook, from left, Kimberly Schlapman, Karen Fairchild and Philip Sweet of Little Big Town perform one of their hits.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 22/23
Miss America Betty Cantrell and Darius Rucker present the award for song of the year.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) 23/23
Miranda Lambert takes the stage.
(Chris Pizzello/ Invision/Associated Press) Hosts Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood kicked off the show with a “Star Wars” skit that played to their mutual-cornball charisma. They cracked gently about Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert’s split and worked in gentle jibes at Donald Trump and Josh Duggar.
William Shatner’s daffy, profane cameo as he performed a bit of “Girl Crush” in a stormtrooper suit called the shot of the night, however. Little Big Town would soon prove to be a Death Star-sized juggernaut.
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Neil Perry, left, Kimberly Perry and Reid Perry, of the Band Perry, arrive at the CMA Awards.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 2/25
Miranda Lambert arrives on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 3/25
Kacey Musgraves, left, and Misa Arriaga arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 4/25
From left, Phillip Sweet, Kimberly Schlapman, Karen Fairchild and Jimi Westbrook, of Little Big Town, arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 5/25
Steve Martin and Edie Brickell arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 6/25
Keith Urban arrives on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 7/25
Kyle Jacobs and Kellie Pickler arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 8/25
Carrie Underwood arrives on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 9/25
Steven Tyler arrives on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 10/25
Chris Lucas, left, and Preston Brust, of LoCash, arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 11/25
Kelsea Ballerini arrives on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 12/25
From left, Avi Kaplan, Kirstin Maldonado, Scott Hoying, Mitch Grassi and Kevin Olusola, of Pentatonix, arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 13/25
Dierks Bentley, left, and Cassidy Black arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 14/25
Hannah Davis arrives on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 15/25
Clay Walker and Jessica Walker arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 16/25
Luke Bryan with Caroline Boyer on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 17/25
Jason Aldean and Brittany Kerr arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 18/25
Kimberly Williams-Paisley arrives on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 19/25
Brantley Gilbert and Amber Cochran arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 20/25
Scotty McCreery arrives on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 21/25
Holly Williams arrives on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 22/25
Kelly Lynn Janson and Chris Janson arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 23/25
Dan Smyers, left, and Shay Mooney, of Dan + Shay, arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 24/25
Cassadee Pope arrives on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) 25/25
Mike Caussin and Jana Kramer arrive on the red carpet.
(Evan Agostini/Invision/AP) Early collaborations between Hank Williams Jr. and Eric Church, and John Mellencamp and Keith Urban drew through-lines between classic rock and modern Nashville. Chris Stapleton, the velvet-voiced, formidably bearded, picked up the award for new artist and had a strong duet with Justin Timberlake that took his hit “Tennessee Whiskey” into Timberlake’s “Drink You Away.” Both are soul-inspired vocalists, and the crisp horns and virtuosic vocal runs provided the biggest fireworks of night.
But the crowd was perhaps most glad to see Sam Hunt, the barnstorming singer whose sing-speak style and pop-fluent sensitivity earn frequent Drake comparisons. His hit “Take Your Time” didn’t land him any of the night’s early awards, but it did have a spark of enthusiasm and crossover potential the genre hasn’t seen since Taylor Swift.
But the night’s most charming early moment came when Paisley brought the urn out with the ashes of Little Jimmy Dickens, the diminutive Grand Ole Opry star whose showmanship had become a CMA staple. Dickens died in January, but when Paisley opened his urn to produce another, much tinier urn, he was once again — perhaps for the last time — the star of the CMAs.
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